"Pigeon Hole" parking as you call it is still very much in use in Manhattan. Each set of drive-on ramps are raised & lowered by a chain system & lock in place when in position. Also the ramps have progressively longer lead on ramps, ( longer than the one below it). They stack when down.

Art, Great to see the photo of "pigeonhole" parking in Spokane. There also was an indoor rack system on the second floor of what is now the downtown shopping mall in Spokane. It lasted until sometime in the 60s until the whole area was rebuilt into the shopping mall complex. The car rack was semicircular shaped. Life seemed more fun then. Now you fight for space in a parking garage.

Thanks Art, that's a very modernistic parking solution Guess it had to have an attendant present at all times to operate the elevator - with today's salaries it may only make sense in cities where real estate prices are like Manhattan's?

OK, today it could be computerized and work automatically - I think I've seen pictures of such solutions in Tokyo.

I was in Japan, a few years ago, and seen one of these. They would drive a car on a table, turn it 90 degrees clockwise, raise it to a slot, drive it in and then, when a car was to be removed, the table would be raised to a certain car, the car was backed onto the table. The table would turn 90 degrees, counter clockwise, then lowered and driven off. We watched it for a couple of hours.